Today, Bezos has a net worth of more than $160 billion, thanks to his stake in Amazon.

Amazon.com Inc Chief Executive Jeff Bezos and wife MacKenzie Bezos have decided to divorce after a long trial separation, Bezos said on Wednesday in a joint statement by the couple on Twitter.

Amazon.com again became Wall Street's most valuable company this week, surpassing Microsoft Inc. Bezos' fortune has soared to more than $160 billion, thanks to his stake in Amazon.

From modest beginnings as an online bookseller, Bezos and Amazon branched out into almost every product category available, ending up taking on established retail giants such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Bezos founded Amazon in 1994.

Under Bezos, Amazon launched the Kindle e-reader and revolutionized the way books are distributed and read. The company has also been a pioneer in cloud computing.

In November, Amazon picked America's financial and political capitals for massive new offices, branching out from its home base in Seattle with plans to create more than 25,000 jobs in both New York City and an area just outside Washington, D.C.